Before Trump entered the presidential race, he
and Bill Clinton chatted. That’s made some in the GOP suspicious. Also,
what the jobs numbers portend.

Or
maybe it’s Big Mac-iavelli. That would be former President Bill
Clinton, who was known for his fondness for stopping at McDonald’s
during his jogs in his days in the White House. While he has eschewed
such unhealthy fare since his heart surgery in 2004, the name still
fits.

.

It emerged last week that the
former president had a telephone chat last May with none other than
Donald Trump. That was just before the bombastic billionaire decided to
toss his hat (and the mop that resides beneath it) into the Republican
presidential ring—and not long after Hillary Clinton made her
long-awaited official announcement to seek the Democratic nomination,
the Washington Post reported.

.

It wasn’t
unusual for Mr. Bill and The Donald to phone each other about such
topics as golf and donations to the Clinton Foundation. But, according
to sources quoted by the paper, the latter was “candid about his
political ambitions and his potential interest in seeking the White
House during the talk.” The former president didn’t urge him to run, but
was curious about his plans, the report added.

.

The
Donald’s consorting with the other side raised eyebrows, if not
hackles, among some of his GOP rivals, notably former Hewlett-Packard
CEO Carly Fiorina. “I didn’t get a phone call from Bill Clinton before I
jumped into the race. Did any of you get a call from Bill Clinton?” she
asked her fellow participants in the not-ready-for-prime-time undercard
prior to the main event on Thursday evening, the debate of the top 10
GOP contenders in the polls.

.

To my
devilishly clever wife, the scheme was obvious (although not to her
slow-witted hubby). Bill would induce The Donald to run to ensure
Hillary’s victory. Either he would be the GOP nominee and the easiest
opponent for her to defeat, or he would mount a third-party campaign and
ensure a Democratic victory—just as Ross Perot had done for Bill in
1992.

.

It turns out that notion had also
occurred to Brent Budowsky, a D.C. veteran. In an opinion piece in The
Hill, he asked, “Is Trump a Clinton Plant?”

.

Budowsky
checked off the list of possible aims of such a ploy, such as providing
a stream of outrageous sound bites from Trump that the Dems could use
later; offending Hispanics, who would be a vital bloc for the GOP to
win; deflecting attention from bright new stars in the party, such as
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio or Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Check, check,
and check.

.

“Of course, the grand slam
for Hillary Clinton would be if Donald Trump were to run as a
third-party candidate in 2016,” Budowsky wrote. And right at the outset
of Thursday’s debate, Trump alone raised his hand to declare that he
would not necessarily support the eventual Republican presidential
nominee or would eschew an independent White House run.

.

The
Donald later managed to add the entire female gender to the list of
those he has offended with his demeaning treatment of Fox News Channel’s
Megyn Kelly and her question about his description of some women. And
he seemed rather defensive about the bankruptcy filings by entities
bearing his name, calling it merely using the law to his advantage.

.

Veteran
Washington watcher Greg Valliere of Potomac Research Group summed up
The Donald’s evening: “Entertaining and riveting, but let’s be
blunt—Trump was a cringe-inducing embarrassment. First Hispanics, then
veterans, now women—who will he alienate next? Republicans! Trump won’t
agree to support the GOP nominee, and his descent now begins, perhaps as
rapid as his ascent?”

.

Greg’s scoring on
the rest of the field: former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, adequate, “but a
quart low on energy.” Walker wasn’t hurt, but suspicion remains he’s not
ready to be president. Dr. Ben Carson—over his head most of the night,
but a strong finish. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the hometown favorite at the
Cleveland event, “helped himself. He’s the one Republican that
Democrats really like—and that’s a kiss of death.”

The
best moment may have been the face-off between New Jersey Gov. Chris
Christie and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky over the NSA, with the decision
going to the former. Greg called Christie one of the big
surprises,—“crisp, but poised, forceful but not bullying.” Paul’s
campaign meanwhile “has been in free-fall” and his performance on
Thursday didn’t help. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz showed he will be the
anti-establishment candidate for months to come—especially as Trump
implodes.

.

As for the winners, Greg has
asserted that Rubio is “the greatest talent in the race” and “helped
himself tremendously” in the debate. And former Arkansas Gov. Mike
Huckabee was “polished and assertive” and could surprise in the Iowa
caucuses. Meanwhile, he says, Fiorina “clearly belongs on the big
stage,” while it’s time to stick a fork into former Texas Gov. Rick
Perry—“he’s done”—along with South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham,
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and former Sen. Rick Santorum.

.

Trump
remains at the top of the leader board, for now. Nothing he said or did
probably flipped many of his foes or did much to deter those in his
camp who are attracted by his bluster. Neither are the latter likely to
be put off by his flip-flops from previous Democrat leanings, from
contributing to the Clintons as well as to Ted Kennedy and former Rep.
Anthony Weiner (whose name remains a punchline), to support for abortion
rights and a single-payer health-care system.

.

So,
if The Donald does manage to get on the November 2016 presidential
ballot, either as the GOP standard bearer or as a third-party insurgent,
it would seem the Democrats—whom he formerly supported—would be the big
beneficiaries.

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About Me

A Texan who loves the truth and hates the lying, cheating, and deliberate prevarication that characterizes so much of our civic discourse these days.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
RIPOSTE, n. 1. Fencing: a quick thrust after parrying a lunge 2. a quick sharp return in speech or action; counterstroke.
- The Random House Dictionary of the English Language...........
You can contact me by sending an email to me at: leorugiens23@gmail.com